The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 95

Episode 95:

Gugu Palace.

The gates opened and Raoul and the cavalry entered Bates Castle proudly.

A group of troops lined up inside the castle gate to welcome Raoul and his group.

The weapons were worn out and the armor had become tattered, but the soldiers’ eyes were still alive.

And a young man who represented them caught Raoul’s eye.

“welcome. “On behalf of all the residents of the castle, I would like to thank Viscount Raoul for coming with reinforcements.”

Even though a young man in his early 30s was the representative, his attire seemed far from that of an aristocratic family.

He was wearing a leather vest over brown cotton pants made of rough material and a loose cotton shirt. Combined with his hair, which had turned into a magpie nest due to not being washed properly, he looked very shabby.

As if he had sensed Raoul’s thoughts, he immediately opened his mouth.

“This is Hughes. “I work as a junior clerk at Bates Castle.”

A low-level secretary is a position close to the lowest level among administrative officials. Nevertheless, the situation could be guessed without even saying that he appeared as a representative of one gender.

Sure enough, according to his explanation, after the baron escaped through the portal with his clan’s knights, the officials and merchants who remained in the castle also fled at night to find their own way.

The situation of the castle at that time was not good and the public sentiment of the residents was also uneasy.

“After hearing that story, I’m even more curious. “How have you been able to survive this long?”

The number of surviving residents in the castle was about 5,000, and there were only about 800 soldiers.

No matter how hard the castle wall was built, it was not at a level that could block more than 10,000 monsters.

“That’s… because of this.”

Hughes handed me a small leather pouch. When I opened it slightly, it was full of something that looked like yellowish powder.

‘This…!’

“It is a powder made by grinding a wild herb called [pique]. “I don’t know why, but the monsters outside the castle were angry and hated it.”

It was something Raoul was familiar with. This was one of the reasons Raoul visited this place in the first place.

The reason Hughes discovered [Pique Powder] was because of his observation skills.

While the entire castle was under siege and attack, there was a place where monsters were particularly rare. While digging into the reason, what they found was a wild plant called pique.

He found a colony of piques through information from residents and formed a separate team to secure it.

Afterwards, the monsters were blocked by using pique powder appropriately.

‘You were lucky.’

Pique was definitely a plant that was effective against canine monsters. However, it had no significant effect on other monsters.

If it had not been the Gnoll tribe that was targeting Bates Castle, it would not have been easy to stop them.

Of course, this did not diminish Hughes’ contribution.

I highly admire his observation and determination in discovering and using Pique in combat, but I also cannot ignore his resourcefulness in running an isolated castle with a population of over 5,000 for nearly 5 months in addition to combat.

‘I’ll have to check later to see if what he said is true, but I really like it.’

It was unclear why such a talented person remained as a low-level secretary, but it seemed worth recruiting.

“You worked hard. “Well then, I’d like to take a quick look around the castle, so I’d like some guidance.”

Raoul praised Hughes’ efforts and slowly looked around Bates Castle.

After a while. Yeongju Hall conference room.

Raoul gathered Hughes and the troop commanders together and unfolded a scroll of luxurious parchment.

“Let me check.”

Hughes slowly looked at the contents and asked cautiously, his eyes wide.

“Is this true? “Do you really mean that Viscount Raoul took over the Bates Estate?”

“of course. As written, this is a matter that has received approval from His Majesty the King.”

Kudangtang.

Hughes and the commanders, who suddenly stood up, bowed and shouted in unison.

“See you my lord!”

“okay. I would like to commend the hard work of your officials who worked hard to protect the ownerless territory. “You can look forward to it as appropriate awards will be given for your major in the future.”

“thank you. “I will serve my lord with all my loyalty.”

Although the lord had suddenly changed, they swore loyalty to Raoul without any hesitation.

Since the previous lord had abandoned them, they had no loyalty to him, and being under the control of a viscount with a powerful knight order was not a bad thing at all from their perspective.

“good. “Then shall we listen to the story properly?”

There was a lot of work to be done to quickly stabilize the territory. To do this, the help of those who know the situation here was essential.

‘Fortunately, most of the walls are safe and many residents survived. ‘Maybe we can move the plan forward.’

Raoul began drawing up a plan to normalize the territory based on information from Hughes and the commanders.

* * *

A few days later.

A late detachment arrived, including 2,000 infantry and survivors from the village of Medini.

Including the existing troops and cavalry, over 3,000 troops were secured, and immediately the subjugation of monsters centered around the Yeongju Castle began.

In the meantime, Raoul borrowed Ravel’s power to revive the malfunctioning portal and, together with the knights, cleaned up the dungeon (fixed gate) around the castle.

Grumble.

Raoul turned over the report in his hand. The report Kane posted was information about Hughes.

The illegitimate son of Baron Bryson, who fell 15 years ago. He was pursuing an apprenticeship as a knight, but was frustrated with the downfall of his family. Afterwards, he entered the National Academy of Public Administration at the top of his class and studied with a scholarship, but dropped out for some reason. His actions over the next five years are unclear, and he has been working as a low-level official at Bates Castle for the past five years.

‘As expected, he was from the Academy.’

Administrative capabilities were not created overnight. Looking at the traces of how he managed the castle for five months, the workmanship of an expert was evident.

I didn’t know yet whether he was a trustworthy person regardless of his abilities, but that was enough to find out in the future.

Raoul, who had made a decision, called Hughes.

“Did you call me?”

He was still a low-level secretary. Since he was the only administrator who knew about the territory, he was able to treat Raoul alone, but he was originally only a low-level official who could not even see the lord’s face.

I was already thinking that I would go back to my normal job sooner or later.

This was because a large number of administrative officials were included in the new lord’s successors.

‘Whew. Still, since you promised a reward, your rank will probably go up a bit, right?’

In any case, important positions were usually filled with the lord’s blood relatives or trustworthy vassals.

What can I say, since he is a lord from the prestigious Earl of Ashton family with hundreds of years of history.

There would be no one who would put an illegitimate son in a fallen noble family like that.

It was only after dropping out of the academy, traveling to dozens of territories for five years, and experiencing countless frustrations that I was able to accept reality.

Realize that no matter how great your abilities are or how hard you try, you cannot overcome your inherent limitations.

So the last five months were a difficult time, but at the same time, it was like a dream.

I was able to actually confirm things that I had only thought about in my head, and I was able to feel rewarded while protecting the castle.

‘It’s unfortunate, but I think it was a good experience and now I have to go back to my original place. Because that’s reality.’

So I gave up my regrets and stood in front of Raoul…

“Hughes Bryson.”

“Yes, Viscount.”

“I need you to take care of this Bates Castle from now on.”

“…yes? “What do you mean by that?”

Hughes’ face was filled with embarrassment. He looked like he couldn’t believe he had heard correctly.

“This means that I will appoint you as the temporary lord and acting lord of Bates Castle.”

‘…!’

From then on, there were talks about it being a contract position and a guaranteed three-year term, about having a separate commander with authority over the troops, about an aide, an inspector general, etc., but none of it entered my mind.

As if possessed by something, he signed the contract and once again pledged his loyalty to Raoul.

And when I finally met the administrative officials brought by Raoul, I was able to guess Raoul’s true intentions.

‘You were planning on doing this from the beginning.’

The rest of those assigned as administrative officials were either rookies who had just graduated from the academy, half-commoners, or officials from fallen aristocrats like Hughes.

Although it seemed like this was the only way for administrative work to run properly, it was not a bad idea considering the situation in the territory, which was already in disarray and had to be reorganized from scratch.

‘My lord, you are planning to build a foundation from scratch. By appointing new officials without anyone’s influence. This is a truly incredible opportunity!’

The young lord seemed to want his own fiefdom, free from the influence of his family.

Moreover, the fact that it was a fixed-term contract and that he had announced his intention to inspect in advance meant that if he did not show his ability, his position could be taken away at any time.

‘You can’t do that. Given the opportunity, I must do my best to demonstrate my abilities. So, I will definitely become the Viscount’s true vassal!’

Hughes’ eyes burned with passion. His mind began to flash with thoughts of how he could develop the territory.

* * *

Hughes, who had become the lord’s representative, and MacNillon, a senior knight of the First Knights who had been appointed commander, were seeing Raoul off along with several officials.

“I have high expectations for these two. We ask that you stabilize the territory as soon as possible and accept new residents. “If you need anything, please contact the Commander-in-Chief at any time.”

“Please leave it to me, Viscount.”

“I will do my best.”

After saying hello, Raoul stepped into the portal with the knights.

* * *

Raoul, who instantly jumped through space with a cold sensation, arrived at the inside of a building.

Bernard and Philip, who were waiting in front, bowed their heads and greeted him.

“Thank you for your hard work, Master.”

“The police officers also worked hard. “Let’s go straight to the conference room.”

As I moved down the hallway, I could see a well-maintained city outside the large arched window.

Numerous new buildings were being built on the outskirts of the city, and another castle wall was vaguely visible beyond the castle wall in the distance.

It couldn’t be said to be a huge city, but it had a lively and dynamic feel.

When we arrived at the conference room, there were people who could be said to be Raoul’s confidants and executives.

First, Philip, the First Knight Commander, and Sir Jake Pierce, the Vice-Captain, were showing stronger prayers.

And sitting next to him is Dalton, a member of the Templeton family and a friend of Raoul.

Through repeated combat and training, he has reached the intermediate level of Expert and is now firmly established as a senior knight of the First Knights.

Bernard once again confirmed his abilities by managing not only the First Guild but also the newly acquired territory while handling his duties without distraction.

In addition, his ability as a wind wizard has already reached intermediate level and his skills are comparable to those of most knights.

The person sitting next to him without any presence is none other than Kane. Raoul had appointed him as head of the intelligence department, and over the past six months, he had reassembled his scattered subordinates and trained new informants, and was now collecting useful information himself.

The last person to take the seat was a red-haired beauty. It was Nakia, an alchemist from the Free City of Mira who swore loyalty to Raoul.

After conducting research based on information provided by Raoul, she finally succeeded in curing her younger sister Nikki’s illness. After relieving her burden, she finally joined, albeit late.

(Continued in the next part)